UI, ISU and UNI to highlight undergraduate research in Des Moines March 10

The University of Iowa, Iowa State University and the University of Northern Iowa will showcase innovative research being conducted by their undergraduate students during the third annual "Research in the Capitol," a special event at the Iowa Statehouse in Des Moines on Monday, March 10.

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., 20 undergraduate students from the honors programs of each school will display posters in the first floor rotunda and speak with state lawmakers, members of the Iowa state Board of Regents, and other visitors about their work and its potential impact on their education, careers and Iowa.

David Miles, president of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, will make opening remarks at 11 a.m., followed by university representatives from each institution. Representing the UI at the event will be Richard Hichwa, an associate vice president from the UI Office of the Vice President for Research and undergraduate researcher Garth Strohbehn, who was recently named a Gates Cambridge Scholar recipient. Others attending will be John Nelson, UI Honors Program director and Bob Kirby, director of the Iowa Center for Research by Undergraduates, who will give introductions.

The event is open to the public, and top scholar students from area high schools have been invited.

"Research in the Capitol brings together undergraduates with legislators and members of the Board of Regents to discuss not only the outstanding creative projects students have been involved in but also the importance of these opportunities as they prepare for graduate and professional training," Kirby said. "The presentations are done using a poster format, and while some discussion occurs of the research, the discussion frequently becomes a broader conversation on what the student hopes to do and how the experience in research has benefited them."

Kirby said well over 1,500 undergraduate students, representing diverse majors from engineering to business, are involved in some aspect of research at the UI. Many of these students earn credit or get paid for their work as research assistants, he added.

He said students were selected for the March 10 event based on faculty nominations to the honors programs of each school.

The Iowa Center for Research by Undergraduates and the UI Honors Program, Iowa State University Honors Program and University of Northern Iowa Honors Program are sponsoring the event.

EDITORS: Receipt of this release indicates that a UI student from your coverage area is involved in this event. The names are listed below by hometown, name, major, parent/guardian, title of poster and name of mentor and mentor department, with Iowa students listed first.

IOWA

Ames
Jason Fries, computer science. Fries's project is "Mobile Sensor Instrumentation of Contact Graphs for Epidemiological Models," and he is working with Ted Herman from the computer science department in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Ames
Christina McClelland, studio art, John McClelland and Linda Seaverson. McClelland's project is "The Daily Palette," and she is working with Jon Winet from the intermedia department in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Bettendorf
Megan Mathews, psychology and fine art, Kenneth Mathews and Jane Griffith. Mathews's project is "How Hard is it to Learn Words? A Statstical Learning Paradigm for Word Acquisition," and she is working with Bob McMurray and Larissa Samuelson from the psychology department in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Boone
Garth Strohbehn, biochemistry and chemistry, Daryl and Catherine Strohbehn. Strohbehn's project is "Trans-Endothelial Migration Selects for Prostate Cancer Cells with a Mesenchymal Phenotype," and he is working with Michael Henry from the molecular physiology and biophysics department in the Carver College of Medicine.

Bussey
Jason Allen, integrative physiology, Randol and Darla Allen. Allen's project is "Reduced Brain pH Causes fear and Heightens Anxiety by Activating pH Sensitive Molecules," and he is working with John Wemmie from the psychiatry department in the College of Medicine.

Bloomfield
Ashley Leyda, sociology major, Jeff and Debbie Leyda. Leyda's project is "Sex Offender Recidivism in Minnesota and the Importance of News and Legal Coverage," and she is working with Robert Baller from the sociology department in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Cedar Rapids
Philip Kennedy, psychology, Karen Sue Kennedy. Kennedy's project is "Conditional Same-Different Discrimination in Pigeons," and he is working with Ed Wasserman from the psychology department in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Clear Lake
Francisco Lovan, biology, Phomma Lovan and Sivilay Lovan. Lovan's project is "p53-Dependent and -Independent Roles of Tumor Suppressor DDB2 in Tumorigenesis," and he is working with Toshiki Itoh from the pathology department in the UI Carver College of Medicine.

Clive
Brandon Menke, Biochemistry major, Student of Matt and Deb Menke. Menke's project is "PPARy Activation through Eiconsanoid Metabolism" and is working with Faculty Mentor, Andrew Norris from the Pediatrics and Biochemistry departments in the Carver College of Medicine.

Columbus Junction
Ryan Gerling, history and secondary education major, Donna and John Carpenter. Gerling's project is "Academic Acceleration: Current Practices and a Policy Template," and he is working with David Lohman from the educational psychology program in the psychological and quantitative foundations department in the UI College of Education.

Des Moines
Robert Tuttle, international studies major. Tuttle's project is "Rural Development: Cultivating Sustainable Development," and he is working with faculty mentor Rangaswamy Rajagopal from the geography department in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Iowa City
Tyler Gunn, chemical engineering major, Michael and Jodine Gunn. Gunn's project is "Spatial Variability of Particle Air Contaminants in Swine Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations," and he is working with Thomas Peters from the occupational health department in the UI College of Public Health.

Iowa City
Hoang Mai, chemical engineering major, An Ho, Tuyet Mai and Randy Nguyen. Mai's project is "Enhancement of Transfection by Zeolites in Human Embryonic Kidney Cells," and he is working with Aliasger Salem from the pharmacy department in the UI College of Pharmacy.

Grinnell
Thomas Heineman, chemistry, Brian and Nancy Heineman. Heineman's project is "Membrane Introduction Mass Spectronmetric (MIMS) Techniques Applied to the Photochemical Activity of Chromophores in Iowa's Surface Waters," and he is working with Faculty Mentor, Mark Young from the physical chemistry department in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

New Liberty
Natalie Adams, music, Loren and Susan Adams. Adams's project is "Constructing a Modern Performing Edition from an Original Unpublished Work by Francois Rene Gebauer (1733-1825)," and she is working with Jeff Agrell from the music department in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Sioux City
Annie Twohig, speech pathology and psychology, Molly and Joseph Twohig. Twohig's project is "The Effect of Botulinum Toxin as a Function of the Extent of Vocal Tremor," and she is working with Eileen Finnegan from the speech pathology and audiology department in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Waterloo
Atulya Iyengar, biomedical engineering, Ram and Sudha Iyengar. Iyengar's project is "Imaginal Conditioning Affects Olfactory Receptor Neuron (ab2A) Odor Coding in Drosophila Melanogaster" and he is working with Chun-Fang Wu from the biological sciences department in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Urbandale
Alexandra Keenan, biomedical engineering, Jan Barrett and David Keenan. Keenan's project is "Cervical Cancer Screening and Treatment Strategies in Tamil Nadu, India," and she is working with Rangaswamy Rajagopal from the geography department in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

ALASKA

Anchorage
Kayla Resnick, anthropology, Rick Resnick and Sandi Andersen. Resnick's project is "Mill Creek Archaeological Artifact Analysis," and she is working with Steve Lensink from the anthropology and archaeology departments in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

ILLINOIS

Moline
Joe Thorngren, political science, Dan and Melissa Thorngren. Thorngren's project is "A Universal Health Care System in the United States: Just Not Practical," and he is working with Robert Baller from the sociology department in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.